Valentine's Day
by merlin56
Summary: Nishikata makes a surprising discovery on Valentine's Day. What will he do with his discovery?


**Nishikata makes a surprising discovery on Valentine's Day. What will he do with this discovery?**

He'd been teased _so _many times today. Nishikata mentally groaned at how many push-ups he would have to do today. With the amount of practice he'd gotten over the years, doing so many push-ups wasn't difficult anymore – it was simply routine by this point – but it was still a chore and a symbol of his continued defeat at the hands of Takagi-san.

Takagi-san. The source of his daily torment – in more ways than one. He'd shed much of his naivete quite a while ago, but some of the same shyness and self-doubt remained. Takagi-san was smart and cute – even inwardly Nishikata had to blush at his use of the word – while he was nothing more than mediocre in both looks and grades. With so many guys who were smooth talkers, or honour students, or top athletes, Nishikata wasn't sure he stood a chance. He'd wondered occasionally since middle school whether Takagi-san actually _liked _him, but each time he'd convinced himself there was no way it could be true. She just liked teasing him, that was all.

He sighed in defeat. Tomorrow was Valentine's Day, and though he hoped against hope, disappointment seemed the only likely outcome.

Dinner was a difficult affair. It was hard to hide his preoccupation with the next day, and yet he couldn't risk his parents figuring out that anything was wrong. Worse, his mother seemed determined to talk about Takagi-san, who she knew to be a close friend (and friend only) to Nishikata.

Back in his room, he began to hatch his next plan to get at Takagi-san. Though it had started out long ago as simply a way to get back at her for her teasing, it had become so much more. Suddenly, his phone began to ring, and he started – who could it be?

The display read "Takagi-san"; his heart pounding, he let it ring a few moments while he steadied his breath, before he picked up.

"Hello?" he started. "Hey Nishikata!" the familiar voice chirped, "I'm guessing you've had dinner?" It was a simple question, and he felt relief at such an easy start. "Yeah," he said, "you know we usually have dinner by this time". "So," she said, "It's Valentine's Day tomorrow, isn't it? Think you'll be getting any chocolate?" Although she didn't say so explicitly, he knew she could only mean love chocolate. "Well, who knows," he said, trying to play it cool, "maybe…" he trailed off – he didn't actually expect any, though he had his _hopes_. And to think it was the person he hoped to get it from that was calling and asking such a question; it was a bit of cruel irony, he reflected.

He had no doubt that many guys were also hoping to get some from Takagi-san; but so far she had never been known to give anyone any. There was that bit of consolation, at least. "We'll see," the voice came through with the same playful tone she so often employed, and after a pause, "that was all I wanted to say this time actually, I need to get on with my homework. Bye!". "Bye," he responded, thinking that despite everything he was still glad to get the brief call from her that marked the intimacy of their friendship.

As he worked on his own homework, Nishikata could not help dwelling on the call, and the associated topic, and he went to sleep with a troubled heart.

The day dawned bright and clear, and he had a good horoscope – the prediction was that there would be a turning point in his life today. Given that it was Valentine's Day, that could only mean one thing, surely…but then again, that was impossible, wasn't it, and how much did he dare to rely on such things anyway? He remembered how his horoscope had so long ago told him he would score a "critical hit", but really all he had scored was an own goal. Bah, these horoscopes didn't mean much anyway.

Still, he arrived at the school in a fairly hopeful mood, and was greeted by the sight of Takagi-san standing outside the school gates waiting for him, as she did from time to time. He was also greeted by slightly jealous looks, given how many guys seemed to have some kind of crush of Takagi-san, but he ignored them (albeit slightly uneasily) as he had learned to with long practice.

"Hey," she began, "_you _look surprisingly happy today. Expecting chocolate?" she continued, her face turning to the sly and smug look he had become so well acquainted with. The implication wasn't lost on him, and he nearly lost to his embarrassment – but he managed to keep his cool, mostly at least. "N-not exactly," he began, "but who knows?" he continued in a much more composed tone, which he congratulated himself on. Takagi-san looked slightly unsatisfied, but she tried to press him again. "Maybe you'll get another chocolate from your _mystery admirer_", she tried. For a few years Nishikata had been receiving what looked like love chocolate in various ways, but without any signs of the giver's identity. It was slightly gratifying, slightly frustrating (given the mystery), and a source of amusement and teasing for Takagi-san. "Maybe", he replied with no trace of embarrassment. He had felt embarrassed before, but now it was almost just a fact of life for him.

Takagi-san was pouting, no doubt because she had failed to evoke the desired reaction from him. Then her face cleared up and she quickly said, "Anyway, we need to get to class. Are you getting your books from your locker?". "Nah, I'm good," he said, "I brought my Science book back home to do my homework on Tuesday. I'll head to class first." "Ok," she replied, "I'll see you in a moment."

Nishikata headed to their classroom on the 3rd floor. He was looking forward to the class by Tanaka-sensei, who was really knowledgeable in his subject while also being pretty easygoing and sometimes even _fun_. As he reached his desk, he opened his bag and began to rifle through its contents before realising that his book wasn't inside. Had he in fact left his book at his locker between Tuesday and today? As class started in all of five minutes, he jumped out of his seat and rushed over to the lockers.

Panting and stopping for breath, he realised that there was still someone else standing at the lockers. Surprised, he looked again; it was Takagi-san? She seemed to be taking an awfully long time to get her books. He was just about to start forward when he noticed something that stopped him in his tracks – she was taking a colourfully wrapped shape out of her bag. Was that – a heart? Was she…giving someone a love chocolate for Valentine's Day? Nishikata's eyes were glued to the scene and though he barely realised it, he was frozen in place. Who was she giving it to? Even as he watched, Takagi-san opened a locker, put the wrapped heart in, closed it and locked it. She even smiled to herself contentedly as she placed it inside.

Nishikata could barely believe what he was seeing. Still, despite feeling like most of his brain functions had been disabled, he was barely able to muster the awareness that he couldn't let Takagi-san know he had seen what had happened. In a half-panicked, half-robotic state, he turned around and headed back the way he came, hoping against hope that Takagi-san wouldn't see him. In this state of dread, he brisk walked back to the classroom.

Normally, Nishikata would be completely immersed in the lesson; Takagi-san had agreed with him previously that Tanaka-sensei's lessons were some of the best they'd had through their many years of schooling together, and his other classmates shared much the same opinion. For one thing though, Nishikata didn't have his textbook, so he had difficulty following the lesson.

The other thing, which was much more weighty, was what he had seen. He hadn't just seen Takagi-san giving someone chocolate – probably intending it to be a secret by lingering at the lockers long after everyone else should have left. No, he had seen her put the chocolate in **his **locker. And further reflection made him realise that the chocolate he had seen reminded him irresistibly of the chocolate from his "mystery admirer", as Takagi-san liked to put it. But that meant…!

The fevered realisation nearly drove Nishikata mad with agitation. What was worse was that he was seated next to Takagi-san, who kept trying to talk to him, as she always did. Nishikata fancied that after she had entered the classroom she had looked slightly off-balance, slightly uncertain, though he wasn't sure people who had observed her less than he had would have noticed. When she tried to talk to Nishikata, though, she seemed as composed as always. He himself could barely talk to her without feeling a definite inclination to blush.

The rest of the day passed by in the same sweet agony. The fulfilment of his wishes filled him with inexpressible joy; but the need to suppress any sign of his reactions to it was surely maddening. He barely registered a word of his lessons all day, his mind and ears being filled with Takagi-san. Time flew by and all of a sudden Takagi-san was asking him if he wanted to walk home together. Sure, why not, they did it every day anyway. Which is what he would usually have said and thought, but the events of the morning rendered his actual thoughts and feeliings so very different. Still, without any prior plans, Nishikata could hardly refuse without it being deemed unfriendly or markedly unusual.

They walked home in silence. Nishikata didn't feel up to his usual tricks, nor did he feel capable of handling whatever Takagi-san might say to him except in the most cursory fashion. To his surprise, despite how almost-normal Takagi-san had acted during classes, she barely made a sound either except for the simplest of observations or the most shallow of topics. He also thought he detected a sense of unease flickering through, mirroring her state when she joined the first class. The desire to say something and the hesitation to do so due to embarrassment warred in his chest.

Before he knew it, they had reached the spot where they usually parted ways. "Well," she said, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow". The words burst forth from his mouth without thought; he was hardly aware when he started. "Wait, Takagi-san…um…do you want to come to my house?", hoping that he wasn't blushing. He could see her eyes widen; beyond that, her face remained mostly unreadable. "Sure," she smiled, "I guess we can do our homework together".

They walked to his house together. A vague idea had begun to take shape in Nishikata's head, one he wasn't sure he would be able to follow through on. It embarrassed him, but just that morning he had gotten as strong a confirmation as he would ever get, and though it scared him he was also pleased that he had been able to take the first step.

When they reached his home no one was in. Perhaps his mother had gone to get groceries. In any case, it meant they were alone…his heart thudded so loud he almost wondered if Takagi-san could hear it. "Huh, seems like no one's in," she said. "Yeah…," he agreed, "I guess my mother went out." He waited for the inevitable teasing that would follow her realising they were alone, as sharp as she always was, but it never came. Surprising, but then she had also been acting a little weirdly today.

They headed up to his room, where he got her the foldable table that could almost be said to have been bought for her use, she came over so often. "So," she said, "why don't we start with mathematics? You're probably struggling with it, aren't you?", giving him a teasing grin which almost made him relieved because it was so _normal_. "Yeah, sure", he replied, too preoccupied to feel stung by the tease.

The fact that he wasn't so good at the subject wasn't helped by the thoughts of what he was planning to do; he sometimes fancied that Takagi-san appeared a little distracted too. But it wasn't distinct enough to really tell; sometimes he thought he might be overthinking it.

Tension built in the pit of his stomach. Finally he could bear it no more, and took the leap – "Takagi-san, you know – er – this morning I…saw you at the lockers," he started anxiously, and as he said it there was an unmistakable start from her, a reaction that validated that what he had seen was _real_, not some twisted delusion. "I saw you…taking out the chocolate and putting it in my locker," he continued. He waited for a reply, but none was forthcoming, only the faintest blush and speechlessness, completely the opposite of her usual behaviour.

"Th-that means you actually l-like me, don't you?" he said. She turned her head away now, and though her face was harder to see, he thought she was blushing even more strongly now, but she continued to say nothing, and he thought she looked anxious, another thing he didn't ever see from the ever-confident and self-possessed girl he knew.

"Well," he continued, turning away a little himself in anticipation of what he would be saying next, "I like you too. A lot". Saying the words was scary, but the events of the morning had given him confidence regarding the likely outcome, and it was a real relief to have the truth out in the open, the truth he had harboured in his chest for a few years, guarded from the subject of that truth. Despite what he knew, his heart thumped madly in his chest. The fear of a rejection is a powerful thing, free of all rationality…

Following his words was a silence that stretched out for what felt like an eternity. Nishikata felt that his heart would burst; despite his nervousness, he turned to see what Takagi-san's reaction would be. Had he made a terrible mistake? Had he somehow dreamed the whole thing and now she was only contemplating how to let him down as easily as possible?

He found the familiar face enveloped in a luminescent blush and a shy, sweet smile, so different from the ear-to-ear grins or full-out laughs he was used to, but so much more precious for what it meant at this moment. "Wow," she said quietly, "you actually said it." A pause, and then – "yeah, I really like you, Nishikata. In case you hadn't figured it out yet, your _mystery admirer_ was me all along. It was kind of fun to give you love chocolates myself while teasing you about it, all at the same time."

He was ecstatic, over the moon. Having seen her put the chocolate in his locker and _knowing _about her feelings was one thing – though still, in his mind, a life-changing event – but hearing it from her lips as direct as could be, was another thing altogether. The words that followed spilled unbidden from his lips – "Then, Takagi-san, will you be my girlfriend?"

If it was possible, he would have said her blush deepened even further, but her reply was clear, and brought further joy to his heart: "Yes." Nishikata felt that he would treasure this day forever. The rest of the day passed unproductively, both still too distracted for homework to be any kind of a priority, and filled with discussions of how long they had each felt this way for the other. Nishikata found in wonder that Takagi-san had had at least a crush on him as long, or longer, than he had ever suspected. Her assertions that he had liked her for just about as long rang true on hindsight, though much of it, he found, had been clouded by denial and selective blindness to his own feelings.

Life, he found in the days that followed, continued in much the same way as it had before the events of the day; but being able to call Takagi-san his _girlfriend_, he also found, made it all that much sweeter.


End file.
